Hill Aides to Face Chevron Fallout: What to Know in Washington

Hill Aides Brace for Life After Chevron

Congress lacks the expertise and staff required to craft the complex regulatory legislation that will be needed in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning the Chevron doctrine and the long-standing deference courts have given to federal agencies.

Republicans have been eager to shift the balance of power away from the executive branch to Capitol Hill. While Chevron’s demise makes that goal a reality, it also puts the onus on lawmakers to quickly become better versed in regulatory agencies, hire the expert staff needed to write more complex and frequent legislation, and find ways to move those rules through highly partisan House and Senate chambers.

“It’s more challenging, there’s no question about that,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (N.M.), who’s favored to take the top Democratic slot on the Environment and Public Works Committee next year. “We invest so much intellectual capital in these agencies for a reason, right? And it’s hard to recreate that scale at the congressional level.”

The decision requires Congress to staff up, Sen. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) said, so it can use its regained power in comparison to rulemaking agencies. “The executive branch has taken great liberties in expanding the law through regulations, and that is a step too far in the separation of functions between the legislative branch and the executive branch,” she added. Read More

• Political Impact: The Supreme Court’s ruling makes it harder for his administration to accomplish his biggest policy ambitions ahead of the November election — from tackling climate change to forgiving student debt to cracking down on “junk fees.” Read More
• Environment: Climate advocates lamented the ruling , which they claim will upend the rulemaking process and lead to industry uncertainty in the long run if courts feel more freedom to hand down fractured decisions across jurisdictions. Read More
• Tax: In tax policy, the ruling is set to spur litigation in areas like syndicated conservation easements and health insurance subsidies—where the IRS and Treasury have stretched their regulatory power and already are facing court challenges. Read More
• Health Care: Oversight of transgender care, abortion services, and drug pricing are more open to legal challenges following the ruling. Congress has often left the details in the highly technical and scientific area of health law to HHS and its sub-agencies. Read More

More on Chevron:

• BGOV OnPoint: ‘Chevron’ Demise Changes Rulemaking, Legislating
• Ambitious SEC Agenda Snagged as Supreme Court Limits Powers
• Power Grid Rule Won’t Survive Post-Chevron, FERC Regulator Says
• Labor Regulators’ Policy Strategies Will Get Post-Chevron Rewrite
• IRS Rulemaking Authority on Shaky Ground With Chevron Overturned

BIDEN’S SCHEDULE

• The president has no public events scheduled

CONGRESS’ AGENDA

• The House and Senate are in recess this week.

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To contact the reporters on this story: Brandon Lee in Washington at blee@bgov.com; Jeannie Baumann in Washington at jbaumann@bloombergindustry.com

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Kayla Sharpe at ksharpe@bloombergindustry.com; Giuseppe Macri at gmacri@bgov.com